Oktoberfest

Last night we ate German food for dinner.  We dined on bratwurst, spaetzel, pretzels, asparagus, and latkes with apple sauce.  Since it is Oktoberfest time, I encouraged the kids to dress up in the Bavarian gear they got from my parents' trip in May (the mini beer stein was from Eric and my first trip in 1998).  It made dinner a little more fun.

 Prost!

Ashlynn's 8th Birthday Painting Party

Ashlynn is eight years old now (time sure flies!) and today she celebrated with her friends at our house.

This party has been discussed since like March.  For a few months, it was going to be a Sound of Music themed party, but in recent months Ashlynn decided that she wasn't super excited about that idea.  About two weeks ago we finally landed on a painting theme.  I love planning parties, especially this time of the school year when I need a creative outlet, but I just didn't have it in me to do a big, crazy party (remember: Ashlynn's 7th Birthday Little House on the Praire Party  Ashlynn's 6th Birthday Doll Party  Ashlynn's 5th Birthday Fancy Nancy Birthday Party).  Plus, painting, and art in general, is something Ashlynn loves to do.  She will draw for hours!

So, I decided to pick up some canvases, paint, and brushes from Michael's.  But I couldn't keep it totally simple when I remembered that I had a box stored at school filled with a bunch of art books and prints that I bought years ago, before my school started their fantastic Meet the Masters program.  I ended up having a little creative fun.  :) 

Here are two photos of the decorated dining room.  It was meant to be an "Inspiration Room" where the girls first would look at art, become inspired, and then create rough drafts of what they would later paint on canvas outside in the "studio" (sadly, I didn't take great photos of the patio, which also looked cute with paper chains in many colors draped across the patio cover).

When the girls arrived they were super excited (read: hyper).  They settled down a little bit as they looked at books and worked on rough drafts.

Then we went outside to the "studio".

Pippa liked the attention she got but also took a few breaks under tables.

 The girls (and Carter) settled down more as they painted.  (Check out the cute aprons they all wore.)

After they finished, the girls jumped on the trampoline and painted murals together using paint supplies and butcher paper my brother gave the kids a few years ago (got great use from it all today!)

 Ashlynn requested ice cream sundaes again this year, so that's what she got. 

 With Maddie and Sophia

 Carter with a pretty cute rice crispy treat "paintbrush" that I saw on Pinterest.  Who doesn't like candy dipped rice crispy treats on a stick?

  The girls (and Carter) with their artwork

 A pose they created of some of the girls holding Pippa.

 Opening presents

 As her friends left, we were able to grab a few last shots with her dear friends, Lydia and Julianna.

 Crazy girls!

 Ashlynn and the girls had fun, so I'll declare this a successful party.  Happy 8th birthday, Ashlynn!

A Step Forward

Many times in life you see that two steps forward and one step back pattern to growth, especially in the kids.  This morning at soccer seemed like a step back for Carter (see previous post).  This evening, I felt like there was a step forward in another area.

He wanted to draw and the quickest thing I could find for him to draw on was a folded piece of computer paper from my purse.  He happily took it and commented, "Cool!  I can make a little book."

I didn't think much of his comment until he showed me that he had written on the cover of the "little book".  It took me a moment, but I realized that he sounded out and wrote "LITUL" (little) on his book.  I made a big deal about how well he had sounded out the word, and he then went back to work, writing "BUC" (book) and his name.  He did it all on his own!  (Plus, if you saw his writing from just a few weeks ago when he started kindergarten, you would be even more impressed to see how much his letter formation has already improved.)  They grow so much in kindergarten, and we are just at the beginning!

Look at the proud face!  Go Carter!

There Might Not Be Any Crying in Baseball, But...

 Um.  Watching soccer can be a little painful.  Especially when your kid is the one who is crying "for no weeson" and randomly sits on the field, right in the middle of play because he is "fwustwaited".  Here are a few photos to paint a picture of what Carter's games was like today.

 *yawn*

 Carter's favorite part of the game.

After the game his top concern was getting home quickly so he could help me work on decorations for Ashlynn's birthday party.  I guess we know what his interest is today.  It sure wasn't soccer.

A Super Busy (and Fun) Saturday

Phew!  We are recovering from a very busy Saturday.  It was the kind of Saturday some families (with more/ older kids) have often, but for us, it was long.  We're the kind of people who are okay with one activity (maybe two activities) for the day, and that's enough for us.  We had two soccer games and two birthday parties.  Four things is a lot.

The day began with Carter's first soccer game.  Eric is the assistant coach this year.  This week the head coach was out of town, so Eric was the coach.  In Carter's level, U6, the games involve half the team playing half of another team on one small field while the other halves play each other on the neighboring field.  Both games look like a swarm of kids running after the ball.

Halftime

Carter did not get into the game all that much, but he participated the whole time, which is better than he did at his practices.

One thing we did observe about Carter is he is a shirt puller and a trash talker.  Yes, he was THAT kid.  It was strange because at home we don't play roughly and we don't talk trash, even jokingly, with each other.  He's usually a kind and gentle boy.  Well, to clarify, he pulled at shirts while everyone was bunched up around the ball and his "trash talk" was him telling the players on the other team what they score was (his team had scored more points, but he didn't need to point it out).  Still, we're going to have to work on that. 

 Ashlynn came to cheer on her brother.

 Good game.  Good game.  Good game.

 Post game meeting with Coach Eric

 Go Flames!

We went home for a little while, finished preparing the snack for Ashlynn's game, and headed back out for game #2.

Ashlynn's team played a pretty tough team.  Well, they played a team with a girl who pushed and two other really good players (I had flashback to playing against Michelle Kennedy during my AYSO days).  They don't officially keep score in U8, but Ashlynn was very aware that the final score was 7 to 1.  It was hard to watch, so I can imagine how hard it was to play.  Ashlynn was one of two players to play the whole game.  She worked pretty hard, but struggled with being discouraged.

 It was a noon game, so it was hot.  I guess pulling up your shorts can cool you off.

We arrived home at 1:40 with our lunch from Carl's Jr.  We ate that quickly, Carter got a quick (pointless) bath, and Carter and I headed out at 2:00 for his friend Josiah's 6th birthday pirate party.

My friend Gretchen is a great party planner and did a super job with this one! 

Watching "Pin the patch on the pirate"

Walking the plank

Happy birthday, Josiah!

Going on a treasure hunt

Carter and I went home for 30 minutes before heading out to our next party. 

The second party was to celebrate Joshua's 2nd birthday.  Grace planned a fun construction themed party in the park they share at their townhouse.

Eric did an awesome job of wrapping the gift with construction materials.

There were a bunch of fun activities for the kids to do.  Ashlynn's favorite was decorating a hard hat.

Carter practically ran to the bouncer that was shaped like a digger.  That kid loves to bounce/ jump (he did it through a lot of his soccer game too).

Carter had fun with Joshua's cousin, Eddie, at the Angry Birds activity.

The birthday boy did some digging.

Happy birthday, Joshua!

I impressed others by picking up a praying mantis and carrying it around for the kids to see.

Wow!  That was a busy and fun day!